Steps taken to establish welfare state, says KP CM

PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Mahmood Khan on Friday said the provincial government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had taken pragmatic steps to establish a social welfare state.

He added the ultimate goal of the efforts and struggle over the years was to contribute to the national economy and provide people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with easy access to basic services.

He made these remarks in a statement issued here from the Chief Minister’s Secretariat regarding the reforms and transformation strategy of his government.

The chief minister said the PTI had emerged as the only political party that was representative

of Pakistanis as it stood for their rights.

“The provincial government has proved this by taking practical steps over the last four years, which have resulted in significant improvement in the overall

service delivery system in the province,” he added.

Mahmood Khan said the welfare steps taken by the government included introduction of the Sehat Card Plus, uniform academic curriculum, revamping and rehabilitation of healthcare centres, establishment of service delivery centres, provision of honorarium to prayers leaders of mosques and religious leaders of minorities, launching of Insaf Food Card, reforms in Patwar system, solarization of mosques and improvement in the communication network in the province.

He added the provincial government had worked beyond its capacity for the welfare of the public and never compromised on its manifesto regarding investment in human development despite multiple challenges.

Mahmood Khan said that public confidence in the governance strategy of the provincial government had increased significantly.

It is pertinent to mention here that under the Sehat Card-Plus scheme, free treatment facilities for various diseases are available to 9.6 million families of the province, which is a milestone achievement towards the establishment of a welfare state.

Since the roll out of the Sehat Card initiative, over 1.4 million people have availed free treatment facilities whereas expensive treatments like liver and kidney transplants have also been covered under the Sehat Card scheme to reduce the burden on families

of patients.

Moreover, free cochlear implants have also been introduced under which 127 children from different districts of the province will receive treatment.

In order to ensure provision of civic facilities to citizens at their doorstep, service delivery centres and citizen facilitation centres have been established where multiple services including issuance of Fard and domicile have been made online.

Additionally, the provincial government is working on the

rehabilitation and upgradation of existing schools alongside the establishment of new schools to provide uniform educational opportunities to people across the province.

In addition to this, the government is also establishing model schools where students will be imparted both traditional and religious education.